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Texas
Texas is a Twist Nation. The Republic of Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836. Geography and Climate Texas is located at the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River are natural borders for the country. The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of multiple climate zones gives the state very variable weather. In general, though, there are three main climate zones: the humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) of the eastern half of Texas, the temperate semi-arid steppe climate of the northwestern part, including the Panhandle, and the subtropical steppe climate (nearly an arid desert climate) of the southern parts of West Texas, particularly around El Paso. History The Republic of Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836. It continued as a Republic until 1845 when it received two competing proposals, one from the United States offering statehood and the other from Britain and France, who had forced Mexico to offer a recognition of Texan Independence. President Samuel Houston called a convention to discuss which of the two proposals the government would put to the people in a referendum. At the convention, they decided both would be best for the people to hear and decide between, so a referendum was quickly organized for later that year. The people narrowly opted for continued Independence for a variety of reasons. 1) The United States had entered an economic downturn and times under President Tyler were uncertain in the States. Texans believed their economic future was more secure in their own hands. 2) Texans were concerned joining the United States was more likely to create a new war on their soil with Mexico. 3) British and French ambassadors, keen to gain a further foothold in North America, promised to pay off Texan war debts if they accepted the Mexican proposal instead. Texas instead asked Britain and France to assist them in selling their northern lands to the United States and Western lands back to Mexico to raise money and pay their debts off. 4) Texas had recently ended slavery, and there was some concern about joining the United States with the uneasy balance between North and South, particularly with the Southern States all being slave holding. 5) After months of silence, Sam Houston, the nation's most famous leader, came out in support of Independence in a the famous "Alamo Address" of 1845. Many believe this speech, printed nationally in the papers and made just a week before the referendum vote, tipped the scales in favor of rejecting US statehood. How Texas ended slavery is an interesting story in and of itself. One night in 1844, Sam Houston had a dream that changed his life and possibly the direction of his nation forever. He was told in the dream, he believed by God, that he must end slavery in his nation immediately. In keeping with his limited government beliefs, he called upon close friend Anson Jones and worked with him to create the Texas Universal Freedom Corporation, an organization dedicated to raising money from private donors and purchasing all slaves in the nation, granting them freedom and money with which to start a new free life. This was based on how Britain ended slavery except Texas did it with no government funding. Texas has pursued an Independent Foreign Policy based on George Washington's admonition: "Trade, Friendship, and Diplomacy with all, Entangling Alliance with None." Texas did not participate in the Mexican War (1865-1868) that gained the United States control over the modern SW USA, the Spanish-American War, or World War I. Texas did vote to go to war on the side of the Allies in WWII and in a contentious decision, to support UN forces in Korea. However, Texas rejected US requests to assist in Vietnam and to this day does not believe in military intervention unless directly threatened. Government Constitutional Republic - 20 states Bicameral Legislature House of Representatives - Apportioned to Texas' states based on population, Speaker chosen from body, 2 year terms Senate - 2 Senators represent each of Texas' 20 states. Vice President of Texas leads the Senate, 6 year terms (staggered) Elected President - 3 year terms, Maximum 2 consecutive terms allowed Court System - Liberal Democratic court system with elected local, state, and federal judges. Supreme Court judges appointed from the ranks of current federal elected judges by President with Senate's consent. Texas allows no organized political parties. In order to run in an election, a person must be a citizen of the territory they wish to represent, be 18 years of age or older, swear an oath to "Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution and the Independence of Texas", and gather the signature support of 1% of the territory they wish to represent. All people who meet this qualification compete in an election. If one receives over 50% of the vote in this first election, they are elected. If no one receives a majority, a run-off election is held 2 months later between the top two vote getters for the position. Leaders The current Texan leader is Toby Keith. Previous presidents of the Republic of Texas have included: *David G. Burnet^ (March 1836-October 1836) *Sam Houston (1836-1838) *Mirabeau B. Lamar (1838-1841) *Sam Houston (1841-1844) *Anson Jones (1844-1847) *Edward Burleson (1847-1851) *David G. Burnet (1851-1853) *Robert L. Farnsworth (1853-1856) *Lee Roy Walton (1856-1862) *Winchester Brown (1862-1866)^^ *Karl Runt (1866-1868) *Vince Cordell (1868-1874) *Bruce Hawkins (1874-1880) *George Jacobs (1880-1883) *Clancy Ford (1883-1886) *Brent Fortworth (1886-1892) *Clancy Ford (1892-1895) *Hank Franklin (1895-1898) *Neil Prescott (1898-1904) *Peter "Perfect Pete" Hollingway (1904-1910) *Stephen Jules (1910-1916) *Redd Ford (1916-1922) *Clarence Zenith (1922-1928) *Lewis Patton (1928-1931) *James Sullivan (1931-1938) *Jack Roland (1938-1944) *Douglas P. Harding (1944-1950) *Lucas Raines (1950-1956) *Harry O'Neil (1956-1962) *Nicholas Partridge (1962-1963)^^ *Brandon Lawrence (1963-1965) *Julian Pierce (1965-1971) *William Buick (1971-1974) *James Planter (1974-1980) *Michael Hewitt (1980-1982) *Michael Clementine (1982-1989) ^Burnet was an interim president. He was not officially the "first" president of the Republic of Texas. ^^assassinated Economy Capitalist system, non-interventionist laissez faire Practice Free Trade with all, regardless of political differences Low Taxes, Smaller Government Industries: Oil, Agriculture, Industrial, Technology GDP/Capita : $23,925 (Jan 1990) Total GDP: $523.10 (Jan 1990) Texas will not accept deficit spending. At the end of the financial year the Budget must be balanced. Privatization: Energy, Social Services, Education, etc. Demographics Population: 21,863,672 (Jan 1990) Capital: Houston Official Language: English Secondary Language: Spanish Population Breakdown 70% Caucasian 25% Hispanic 5% African American 0% Other (Rounding) Hispanic population is growing at a faster rate than the nation as a whole due to higher birth rates and an illegal immigration problem on the Texas/Mexican border. Religion (Best Guess. Texans traditionally will not respond to this survey.) 70% Protestant 20% Roman Catholic 10% Other/Unaffiliated Culture There are many popular events held in Texas celebrating cultures of Texans. The annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is Texas' largest rodeo. It is held over 20 days from late February through early March. The event begins with trail rides that originate from several points throughout the country, all of which convene at Reliant Park for a barbecue cook-off. Texas has a vibrant live music scene in Austin boasting more music venues per capita than any other city in Texas. Houston is famous for being very concentrated into the performing and visual arts. Texas is known for its love of American football and is noted for the intensity with which people follow high school and college football teams—often dominating over all else for the purposes of socializing and leisure. Baseball is also very popular in Texas. Military Even though Texas does not believe in a Military Interventionist foreign policy, they still maintain a strong army, air force, and a small but advanced navy for defense. Highlights Army - Texas is known for a highly advanced, powerful tank corps Air Force - Texas has a good number of advanced fighters and bombers Navy - Texas maintains a small navy, mostly Submarines, Destroyers, and Frigates with a battleship or two mixed in. This navy is mostly for coastal defense, particularly the offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Diplomatic Information Recognises Tibet and RoC(Taiwan).